The annual Take Pride in Smith Mountain Lake Cleanup Day was held on May 2 at several marinas and stops around the lake with many volunteers enduring the early morning cool temps and bouts of rain to help make the lake a cleaner and safer place.

“We had over 440 people sign up to volunteer for the event at seven locations around the lake,” said TLAC Executive Director Kristina Sage. “It was a fantastic turnout from civic organizations, businesses and homeowners associations.”

Dumpsters were set up at the seven locations including at Walnut Run, Pleasure Point, Magnum Point Marina, Indian Point, W.E. Skelton 4-H Educational Conference Center, Gills Creek Marina and the Oak Grove public boat ramp. Volunteers collected debris that included tree limbs, sticks, trash and other items that had washed up on the shoreline. “There was a lot of debris. It was a great opportunity to clean up the shorelines and edges of the lake,” added Sage. Dumpsters remained at the sites through

Data on how much tonnage of debris was collected should be released by the end of the week, according to Sage. In 2025, community volunteers collected more than 26 tons of debris according to the final 2025 collection report.

Officially, the cleanup took place on May 2 and 3, but Sage noted that some groups have opted to do their cleanup later this month.

The cleanup is a collaborative effort of the Smith Mountain Lake Association, the Tri-County Lakes Administrative Commission and the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce.

An appreciation dinner for volunteers will be held May 6 at Mango’s.

“We are really thrilled with the community engagement, turnout and everyone’s efforts,” said Sage. “We look forward to thanking them at the appreciation dinner.”

For additional information about Take Pride in Smith Mountain Lake Annual Cleanup Days, visit https://takepridesml.wordpress.com/.

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